SC Utility News Digest

Santee Cooper wants to settle legal fight with electric co-ops out of court | Business | postandcourier.com

2018-06-07T15:58:00.001-04:00

Santee Cooper wants to settle legal fight with electric co-ops out of court | Business | postandcourier.com: "In the legal motion, Santee Cooper's attorneys argue the co-ops agreed to settle "any" dispute over that contract through arbitration. But the electric cooperatives plan to oppose Santee Cooper's attempt to force the case into arbitration, said Lou Green, a spokesman for the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina. "

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SCANA shareholders to vote on merger in July > Columbia Business Report

2018-05-31T10:25:00.001-04:00

SCANA shareholders to vote on merger in July > Columbia Business Report: "SCANA shareholders will vote on the Cayce utility’s proposed merger with Virginia-based Dominion Energy during a special meeting on July 31. "

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Myrtle Beach changes franchise agreement with Santee Cooper - WMBFNews.com, Myrtle Beach/Florence SC, Weather

2018-05-23T16:01:00.001-04:00

Myrtle Beach changes franchise agreement with Santee Cooper - WMBFNews.com, Myrtle Beach/Florence SC, Weather: "Currently, customers see a 5 percent franchise fee on their Santee Cooper bill. That fee was created back in 1999 when the city decided to work with Santee Cooper to put utilities underground. Two percent of the fee is set aside to pay for underground utility projects in the city and Santee Cooper matches the fee.

Over the years, those funds have provided more than $30 million for underground utility projects. City Spokesman Mark Kruea says the fund now has more money than they have plans to spend it on. Instead of taking 2 percent of the fee for the fund, it will drop 1 percent and the city will receive the other 4 percent directly in their general fund."

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Tri-County Electric customer files lawsuit over board pay | The State

2018-05-23T13:09:00.001-04:00

Tri-County Electric customer files lawsuit over board pay | The State: "It was drawn up by Columbia attorney Graham Newman, who specializes in class-action lawsuits. With a federal judge's permission, all of Tri-County's 13,600 customers in Calhoun, Orangeburg, Richland, Lexington, Kershaw and Sumter counties would be added as plaintiffs. "

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Subpoena suggests SEC investigating Santee Cooper's disclosures of nuclear project problems | Business | postandcourier.com

2018-05-23T11:06:00.001-04:00

Subpoena suggests SEC investigating Santee Cooper's disclosures of nuclear project problems | Business | postandcourier.com: "In a new line of questioning, Securities and Exchange Commission investigators in Atlanta asked how Santee Cooper, a state-owned utility, handled a highly critical audit more than a year before they called off construction on a pair of nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station, near Columbia.

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Southern Selling Florida Assets to NextEra for $5.1 Billion - Bloomberg

2018-05-21T11:18:00.001-04:00

Southern Selling Florida Assets to NextEra for $5.1 Billion - Bloomberg: "Southern Co. will sell nearly all the assets it owns in Florida to NextEra Energy Inc. for $5.1 billion as the utility owner pushes to cut debt and pursue a long-delayed nuclear project.

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Utilities join with Tesla to sue EPA over fuel standard rollback | Utility Dive

2018-05-18T11:17:00.001-04:00

Utilities join with Tesla to sue EPA over fuel standard rollback | Utility Dive: "A coalition of utilities and electric transportation companies sued the Enviornmental Protection Agency earlier this month over its efforts to roll back automotive fuel efficiency standards set by the Obama administration. The suit, first reported by Axios, includes a dozen utilities, seven of which are Exelon or its subsidiaries. They asked the D.C. Circuit to review Trump's decision to reassess fuel economy standards from 2020 to 2026. The suit is another indication that utilities are beginning to lean into policy battles over electric vehicles. Last month, utilities helped defeat an anti-EV policy resolution at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative policymaking forum. "

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SC lawmakers will work overtime on budget, nuclear issues | The State

2018-05-11T09:46:00.001-04:00

SC lawmakers will work overtime on budget, nuclear issues | The State: "Legislators also still must take up bills addressing the failure of the V.C. Summer nuclear construction project in Fairfield County. That project has cost SCE&G's power customers $2 billion already and continues to cost them $37 million a month in the form of higher power bills. "

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SC solar power debate concerns subsidies, regulated monopolies | The State

2018-05-10T16:25:00.001-04:00

SC solar power debate concerns subsidies, regulated monopolies | The State: "Our investor-owned utilities should be properly compensated for doing a good job. But for that to happen, we need to institute a regulatory process that tells them what our definition of a good job is. Otherwise that definition will come from the shareholders, who largely care nothing about South Carolina. "

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Santee Cooper paid for SCANA executives' VC Summer bonuses | The State

2018-05-10T13:32:00.001-04:00

Santee Cooper paid for SCANA executives' VC Summer bonuses | The State: "SCANA continued to bill Santee Cooper for its nuclear-related bonuses until Aug. 31, 2017, when it requested another $3.3 million. That was the first time that Santee Cooper refused to subsidize SCANA's bonuses to its managers and executives for their work on the nuclear project.

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High-profile S.C. PSC elections pushed back | The Nerve

2018-05-08T14:07:00.001-04:00

High-profile S.C. PSC elections pushed back | The Nerve: "Thursday’s PSC elections – which is on Confederate Memorial Day, a state holiday – are set to begin at 11 a.m. in a joint session of the General Assembly. The elections were scheduled in a resolution introduced on April 24 by PURC’s three Senate members – PURC chairman Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, and the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee chairman; Luke Rankin, R-Horry, who, as the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, appoints five of PURC’s 10 members; and Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg.

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SC Senate pushes consumer advocate bill after nuclear fiasco | The State

2018-05-01T14:25:00.001-04:00

SC Senate pushes consumer advocate bill after nuclear fiasco | The State: "If passed, the proposals would give S.C. power customers — for the first time since 2004 — an attorney fighting for them in utility rate-hike cases. Lawmakers have proposed bringing back the "consumer advocate" after Cayce-based SCE&G was able to win nine rate hikes in less than a decade from the S.C. Public Service Commission in order to bankroll the doomed V.C. Summer nuclear expansion project."

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Tougher utility regulations advance, as attorneys argue over failed S.C. nuclear project | Business | postandcourier.com

2018-05-01T14:01:00.001-04:00

Tougher utility regulations advance, as attorneys argue over failed S.C. nuclear project | Business | postandcourier.com: "The legislation could also make it easier for the Office of Regulatory Staff and the environmental groups that are challenging SCANA to prove the utility mislead regulators or failed to disclose vital information about the nuclear project.

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Mignon Clyburn reflects on legacy as public interest 'champion' at Federal Communications Commission | Palmetto Politics | postandcourier.com

2018-04-22T13:15:00.001-04:00

"The most high-profile issue Clyburn dealt with during her time in office was net neutrality, which is the idea that internet service providers should treat all websites and content in their system equally and not offer "fast lanes" for larger companies.

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SC Attorney General: SCE&G rate hikes 'unconstitutional' | The State

2018-04-21T12:38:00.001-04:00

SC Attorney General: SCE&G rate hikes 'unconstitutional' | The State: "The Base Load Review Act is unconstitutional as applied to SCE&G ratepayers," said the attorney general's motion to state Circuit Court Judge John Hayes, who is presiding over a ratepayers' lawsuit against the Cayce-based utility."

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Santee Cooper opens new solar farm | WPDE

2018-04-20T13:07:00.001-04:00

Santee Cooper opens new solar farm | WPDE: "It has nearly 6,000 solar panels that will generate enough renewable energy to power almost 200 homes."

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South Carolina Senate passes rate cut, threatening merger :: WRAL.com

2018-04-19T13:40:00.001-04:00

South Carolina Senate passes rate cut, threatening merger :: WRAL.com: "Both supporters and opponents of the rate cut predicted a lawsuit from SCANA or others saying lawmakers have no legal right to set utility rates without the approval of the state Public Service Commission. Supporters think they can win, but opponents like Hutto said if the state loses the lawsuit, it will be a double blow for customers who lose the benefits of the Dominion merger and then the rate cut. He compared the action of the General Assembly to a mad scientist.

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Santee Cooper may object to SCANA-Dominion merger | The State

2018-04-13T09:38:00.001-04:00

Santee Cooper may object to SCANA-Dominion merger | The State: "Mollie Gore, a Santee Cooper spokeswoman, declined to say what the state-owned utility would tell the PSC about the proposed marriage of SCANA and Dominion, a Virginia-based energy giant."

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S.C. power companies holding tax savings that could reduce rates until regulators weigh in | Business | postandcourier.com

2018-04-10T16:07:00.001-04:00

S.C. power companies holding tax savings that could reduce rates until regulators weigh in | Business | postandcourier.com: "Nanette Edwards, the director of the Office of Regulatory Staff, says her office wants utilities' plans in writing now so that they aren't fighting about big sums of money later. The agency aims to clear up the issue early, even if the savings aren't passed through right away."

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Solar industry expansion in South Carolina gets good news | The State

2018-04-06T09:08:00.001-04:00

Solar industry expansion in South Carolina gets good news | The State: "In a state reeling from high electricity costs, the House voted 64-33 to eliminate a cap that threatened to stop the solar industry's expansion in the Palmetto State. The fledgling industry is expected to reach the cap sometime this year."

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South Carolina House takes big step toward selling Santee Cooper

2018-04-05T13:28:00.001-04:00

South Carolina House takes big step toward selling Santee Cooper: "The proposal, which now heads to the Senate, offers a significant step toward selling Santee Cooper. A number of companies have privately shown interest in buying or taking over the state-owned power company, but S.C. lawmakers — whose approval is needed to privatize Santee Cooper — have yet to create a process to field and evaluate those offers.

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Santee Cooper leaders defy S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster in fighting efforts to sell utility | Business | postandcourier.com

2018-03-28T11:11:00.001-04:00

Santee Cooper leaders defy S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster in fighting efforts to sell utility | Business | postandcourier.com: "McMaster's office released thousands of pages of emails and communications Tuesday that shows the utility's highly paid lobbyists asked lawmakers to openly oppose a sale and pushed Santee Cooper leaders to sweeten deals for customers to make outside offers, like one from Florida's NextEra Energy, less attractive.

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South Carolina lawmakers won't throw Charleston-area aluminum plant a lifeline | Business | postandcourier.com

2018-03-26T13:26:00.001-04:00

South Carolina lawmakers won't throw Charleston-area aluminum plant a lifeline | Business | postandcourier.com: "The public utilities subcommittee of the House Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry last week voted 4-2 to kill a bill that would have let Century buy all of the electricity for its Berkeley County operation on the open market. Century currently gets 75 percent of its power from an undisclosed provider. It's required to buy the other 25 percent from state-owned Santee Cooper.

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SCE&G has better options to meet energy needs | Editorials | postandcourier.com

2018-03-20T11:15:00.001-04:00

SCE&G has better options to meet energy needs | Editorials | postandcourier.com: "Environmental Law Center attorney Blan Holman explained, using a golf analogy. “When you are close to the green … and you just spent $500 on a uranium-coated TaylorMade 1-driver (that broke — see V.C. Summer), then it’s not time to buy a new fracked gas-coated 3-wood. It’s time to use your sand wedge and your putter. Solar is the wedge; efficiency is the putter.”

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Governor taps ex-prosecutor to lead South Carolina utility | WACH

2018-03-09T13:54:00.001-05:00

Governor taps ex-prosecutor to lead South Carolina utility | WACH: "Gov. Henry McMaster announced Wednesday he has picked former state Attorney General Charlie Condon to fulfill the rest of former chairman Leighton Lord's term, which expires in May.

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